Appellate Litigation

The Appellate Section of McCathern focuses on preserving and enforcing our clients’ rights in both trial courts and courts of appeals. We represent a wide array of clients from individuals and small businesses to large corporations, and our appellate practice spans numerous industries and areas of the law.

A Winning Team

An effective appellate strategy begins at trial. Clients in high-stakes litigation understand that every decision the trial judge makes is critical. Whether the judge is granting a motion, admitting evidence, or charging a jury, one misstep can turn the tide of the entire case. And unless that error is properly brought to the judge’s attention in a timely manner, it is forever waived. This is precisely why, when a case is big enough or complex enough, an appellate lawyer sits at counsel’s table during trial.

McCathern’s appellate lawyers can be game changers in the trial setting. In presenting a case, the trial lawyer has to juggle a host of issues, including persuading the jury, admitting evidence, asking questions of witnesses, and generally telling a compelling story. Given the fast-paced action of trial, even the best trial lawyers will admit that an appellate advocate can be indispensable as a fallback in case something goes wrong. With a deep understanding of the rules of evidence and procedure, our appellate team has the expertise needed to spot and preserve errors for appeal, draft winning motions and briefs, and hone and simplify complex legal arguments.

Jacks of All Trades

By necessity, McCathern’s appellate lawyers specialize in prosecuting and defending appeals. We do not focus on any substantive area of the law. Rather, we are generalists because appellate judges are generalists. Appellate judges hear cases regarding all areas of the law, from all types of litigants, and in all ranges of complexity. So a successful civil appellate lawyer must be ready to advocate at that same level.

Rather than specializing in any substantive area of the law, our appellate lawyers focus on skills that can turn a losing case into a successful appeal. At McCathern, our knowledge of procedure and our familiarity with the court system enables us to bring our skills to bear in any type of case. We have successfully prosecuted and defended appeals in constitutional law, complex commercial claims, labor & employment disputes, and healthcare liability, just to name a few.

The hallmark of a strong appellate lawyer is knowing how to craft persuasive arguments. This requires a deep understanding of how judges think and how the law works. In each appeal, no matter how big or small, we bring our entire skillset to bear on behalf of our clients.

Experience that Counts

McCathern’s appellate lawyers have represented clients in numerous high-stakes cases ranging from obtaining dismissals and summary judgments in trial courts to favorable judicial opinions in Texas and Federal Courts of Appeals. Here is a sample of some of the cases we have handled:

Obtained dismissal from federal court in Pennsylvania and successfully defended the plaintiffs’ appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of a pro football team in a case involving alleged breach of contract, fraud, and negligence.

Successfully prosecuted a writ of mandamus proceeding to compel a trial court to dismiss a case by a Mexican consulting firm against two U.S. citizens who owned a stake in a Mexican tire company on grounds that Mexico, not Texas, is the appropriate forum.

Convinced a Texas court of appeals that the trial court was correct in holding that an insurance agency’s non-compete agreement with its subcontractor was invalid under Texas law.

Persuaded a Texas court of appeals to reinstate an appeal after dismissing it for lack of jurisdiction and to overturn a trial court’s order denying a motion to compel arbitration of non-subscriber negligence and wrongful death claims against a national truck-stop company.

Obtained a Writ of Mandamus against a county tax assessor, and affirmed the writ on appeal, which compels the processing of lien documents to assert possessory worker’s liens on behalf of financial institutions and auto repair shops that offer structured payment plans to their customers.

Successfully appealed an adverse judgment valued at over $250k in a case involving the novel use of worker’s liens by a financial institution, resulting in the complete and final dismissal of one Defendant and a near total reversal and remand for the other.